Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 66 Secret Talk in the Palace
"One advantage of the guard system is that it can achieve the fastest actual occupation of the recovered land!"

In the study, Zhu Gaoxu talked about the many shortcomings of the Wei system, but he did not mean that the Wei system had no merits.

Faced with Xu Huizu's impatience, he pointed out the greatest benefit of the Wei system.

These days, he has seen too many scenes of people being incorporated into guard camps and entire villages immigrating to Yunnan.

Zhu Gaoxu admitted that for the relocated people, such a move would be tantamount to the destruction of their families and their families.

But in the context of the times, it was Zhu Yuanzhang's actions that allowed Yunnan, a water tower in Southeast Asia, to be firmly controlled by the Han people.

The same thing happened during the Yongle period. Zhu Di set up a large number of Han guard posts in the Northeast and recruited ethnic minorities to establish guard posts to develop the Northeast.

If Zhu Zhanji had not later felt that it was unnecessary and withdrew the Han garrison, then even if Nuergan Dusi was abolished and the Liaodong Dusi that accepted his authority collapsed, the Han people would at least be able to occupy the vast plains from Shenyang to Jilin.

Organizing the Han people in the pass into military households, then sending them to remote areas and giving them large amounts of land was the fastest way for a Han dynasty to quickly control remote areas.

Although this is a bit cruel to the people, with Zhu Gaoxu's current status, he can no longer simply think about issues from the people's perspective.

Standing in the context of the times, he must use the Weisuo system, even if doing so will cause many people to experience poverty for several years.

Zhu Gaoxu's stance changed, and Xu Huizu was a little surprised when he saw what he said.

In front of him, Xu Huizu asked: "Since we want to create a recruitment system, retaining the guard system will only increase a lot of expenditures."

"These expenditures are worth it..." Zhu Gaoxu shook his head:
"Recruit troops to expand the territory, and move the garrison to guard the border."

"In this way, it only takes three generations for the local health centers to turn into county towns, and the thousands and hundreds of households under the health centers can turn into market towns and villages."

"To be specific, I already have a rough idea in my mind, but I haven't thought about it yet."

"I'm afraid that only by going to the north and understanding the guard system more closely can we make appropriate changes."

Perhaps because he was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would understand his thoughts through Xu Huizu, Zhu Gaoxu did not reveal the system he had planned long ago.

He was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would keep him in Nanjing, even though Fu Youde had said that Zhu Yuanzhang would not be able to keep him for long.

"This is a good idea..." Xu Huizu looked at Zhu Gaoxu with complicated eyes, feeling that the strangeness towards him was getting heavier and heavier.

"Boom...boom...boom..."

Suddenly, the evening drum sounded, and Xu Huizu also made plans to leave.

"Go to bed early." After saying this, Xu Huizu turned and walked out of the study.

But before walking out of the main room, he suddenly stopped, turned around, walked back to the study, and stretched out his hand to Zhu Gaoxu:
"Hand over your Baihu Token. I'll have your armor taken away later to save you a trip."

"Yes..." Zhu Gaoxu silently took out the Hundred Household Token from his arms. Xu Huizu took it and walked out of the study and main room.

After he walked out of the courtyard, not long after, two soldiers came in and bowed to Zhu Gaoxu. Then in front of him, they moved away the armor that he had maintained for a month.

In addition to the armor, weapons were also taken away.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything in the middle, but quietly watched them holding their armor and walking out of the yard. It wasn't until they closed the door that Zhu Gaoxu got up and walked towards the backyard.

Fortunately, when he came to the backyard, Chi Huan was eating beans in the manger with his head down.

Zhu Gaoxu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this, and at the same time stepped forward and touched Chi Huan: "Fortunately, you are still there."

"Sorry..."

"Boom...boom...boom..."

When Zhu Gaoxu caressed Chi Huan and sighed, Xu Huizu did not return to the Duke of Wei's mansion. Instead, he rode to the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City and entered the outer court of the Forbidden City after some inspections.

Not long after, he came to the gate of Wuying Palace, and entered the palace gate under the instructions of Bao Tao Guard in front of the palace, and came to Wuying Palace.

At this time, the evening drum was almost over, and Xu Huizu also entered the hall, bowed five times and kowtowed three times, then stood up and recounted the entire conversation between himself and Zhu Gaoxu.He was worried that Zhu Gaoxu's intentions would be discovered by someone secretly. In this case, it would be better for him to make it clear to the emperor himself, lest others add fuel to the fire to frame him and Zhu Gaoxu.

"This kid didn't deny everything I had..."

Sitting on a chair, Zhu Yuanzhang, wearing a round-collared robe, did not show any displeasure on his face, but rather felt a bit relieved.

As someone who imitated the Tang Dynasty's imperial guard system and established a garrison system, Zhu Yuanzhang certainly knew when the Tang Dynasty's imperial army collapsed, and he was also very clear about the reasons for its collapse.

Because of this, he asked the military households in the guard station to hand over all the grain in the "military field", and the remaining fields paid taxes.

Such a system would allow local guards to have their own grain harvesting, instead of having to rely on the court to regulate grain from thousands of miles away.

The guard system itself was a system established to expand territory and stabilize local areas.

Not many people understand this system, and even fewer people are related to Lao Zhu and understand this system.

Apart from him, most of the remaining people who understand this system have passed away. The only three people alive are Fu Youde, Feng Sheng, and Zhu Di. Even Tang He cannot be considered to have a thorough understanding of the guard system.

Now there is one more Zhu Gaoxu among these people. This makes Zhu Yuanzhang happy, but he can't help but be wary of Zhu Di.

Zhu Di was originally No.1 except for Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, and Zhu Fan, plus the current Zhu Gaoxu...

"Yungong, you are close to that boy Gao Xu. Please tell me whether Gao Xu's current nature has changed."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on a chair and asked Xu Huizu. Xu Huizu seemed to have expected this. He raised his hands and bowed:
"Your Majesty, I feel that Gao Xu has changed, but he has become a bit strange to me..."

"Strangeness is right, not only for you, but also for me." Zhu Yuanzhang echoed Xu Huizu's words, but he also affirmed:
"It's just that he changed at the right time. After Wu Liangha rebelled in the north, Prince Ning's pressure became much greater."

"Now King Yan not only has to guard against Northern invaders coming south from the west side of Harawen Mountain, but he also has to help look after Daning. The pressure is a bit greater."

"You said..." Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated, as if he wanted to speak but hesitated, but finally chose to ask: "How about sealing Gao Xu to Kaiping?"

"Kaiping?" Xu Huizu's heart tightened when he heard this. Kaiping Guard is the first line of defense against the Tatars moving south, and it is also one of the two lines of defense that Zhu Di needs to be responsible for now.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not want to send Zhu Gaoxu to Daning to interfere with Ning King Zhu Quan, but Zhu Quan could not solve the problem of the three guards of Wuliangha alone.

If Wu Liangha cannot be solved, Daning will continue to distract Zhu Di, so leaving Kaiping to Zhu Gaoxu and letting Zhu Di concentrate on helping Zhu Quan deal with Wu Liangha became a good arrangement that Zhu Yuanzhang could think of.

Xu Huizu didn't want his sister's children to go to dangerous and desolate places like Kaiping, but since Zhu Yuanzhang had spoken, it was useless even if he objected.

After thinking about it, Xu Huizu could only bite the bullet and said: "Kaiping is good, and it's good to be able to share the worries of King Yan. It's just that Gao Xu is still too young and has a bit of an impatient temper. He should stay in Nanjing to study for a while."

"That's natural." Zhu Yuanzhang fully recognized Xu Huizu's words and told him:
"If he goes to Kaiping in the future, he will definitely have to deal with some political affairs."

"Send someone to tell him that he will go to Wuying Hall every morning to help manage the government, and then go to the Duke's Mansion to study in the afternoon."

Reviewing memorials is not the power of the prince and grandson, but the power of the emperor.

Zhu Yuanzhang also asked some princes to help handle the memorials. This is not surprising, but Zhu Gaoxu is the No. 1 in political management among the three generations of Zhu family's descendants, except Zhu Yunwen.

This is a great honor. When the news spreads, many vassal kings and princes will know that Zhu Gaoxu is favored by Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Yes..." Xu Huizu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Zhu Yuanzhang's answer.

He really couldn't bear to let 15-year-old Zhu Gaoxu go to Pingwei, so it would be good to keep him for a while.

"Step back." After Zhu Yuanzhang asked what was going on, he asked Xu Huizu to leave. Seeing this, Xu Huizu bowed and left the palace.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not deal with government affairs for a long time after he left. Instead, he looked at the Long Case in a daze, and the words Xu Huizu just said flashed through his mind.

After a long time, a long sigh came from the palace, but people didn't know what it was sighing...

(End of this chapter)